"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."
- Dale Carnegie

Monday, October 26, 2015

Star Wars: Shattered Empire by Greg Rucka

Rating: ★★★★★

Disclaimer:I read the individual comics.

I will confess that this miniseries should have been longer because it was phenomenal between storytelling, the artwork, filling in the missing blank, and providing more questions that hopefully The Force Awakens will answer or for any upcoming post-Return of the Jedi works. Four issues were not enough for me in terms of world building and action but I loved everything about this comic and Disney is smart with how to get our attention and leaving us wanting more when it comes to Star Wars.

When it comes to this review I will desperately try my hardest to make this spoiler free for those who do not want to know anything after Return of the Jedi, and are waiting to read this comic. If your memory isn't what it used to be I highly suggest watching or reading what happens in the end of Return of the Jedi because this story literally begins when Luke is fighting against Vader and the Emperor. What I love about this introduction is you get to see the mayhem that is happening in space as the Rebel Alliance is fighting in the Battle of Endor through the point of view of Han Solo, iconic characters, and new characters that meet instantly.

After the Battle of Endor, everyone is in celebrations, everything is perfect and right in the world and for one of the characters, Lieutenant Shara Bey, a human female starfighter pilot is reunited with her husband, Sergeant Kes Dameron. You may be thinking why does that name sound familiar? I knew immediately who it was and people debated about it but confirmed early on which is these two characters are the parents of Poe Dameron (Oscar Issacs) who is one of the new characters in The Force Awakens.

I found it fascinated that they gave the readers a crumb about a new character's background and I feel like I am one step ahead of the rest who are trying to figure out what the hell is Force Awakens is about. Shara becomes one of the main characters in this miniseries and you see how she intertwines with our beloved heroes like Leia and Luke and I hope they remember her or Poe's father in the new movie. While the celebrations is fun and fantastic, Han Solo discovers that the Imperials have a base on the other side of the moon and they have no clue that the Emperor is dead and they need to infiltrate it asap.

Many have wondered that the Emperor simply dies and everything is unicorn and rainbows but knowing Star Wars I figured it wouldn't be the last time we hear of him and sure enough he lives but only the wicked plans that he has left for the Empire to follow. They do not want to the galaxy know that the Emperor is dead and if they follow his orders attentively they can still rule the Galaxy and put an end to the Rebel force. That will be the end of my review because if I go further then I will be giving spoilers away. I highly recommend everyone to read it because it is short miniseries with plenty of action.

I have to applaud the writers of this miniseries at showcasing the troubles of war and fighting for the future that you want in the world or in this case galaxy. Everyone believes by destroying the root of the Empire will make it crumble to its feet but that is not necessarily the case. For every one step forward that the Rebels succeed in destroying the Imperials, it is always two steps back because there is always a new plan, a new location that sends them fighting in order to save planets and lives. Shara mentions it to Luke,

" If the cost of our struggle is the lives we fought to protect, the future we hoped to see then what is it we were fighting for?".

It is so true and that applies to any type of war if no side is winning then at certain point people are going to give up especially when countless soldiers are dying and resources are getting scarce. I believe that could be a possible reason why the Rebels lost in the end. They won the battle but lost the war and especially for them putting the Imperials into a corner, they are not going to end this without a fight. I would like to know exactly what happens that makes the Rebel Alliance crumble.

Star Wars: Princess Leia 2.0

Do you remember that Marvel came out with a miniseries called Princess Leia that was released early on in the year? Well this comic could be considered as a sequel to it because we get a bit of Princess Leia action as she secretly travels to Naboo to seek help by the Queen.

All I am going to say is THEY NEED TO MAKE LEIA A JEDI ALREADY!. The writers keep showcasing that Leia has the force within her with flashbacks of the past and her mother and I am going nuts as to why they haven't explored that side of Leia. I believe it would be phenomenal for a woman to finally be a Jedi after the Jedi order was destroyed. Another rant that I need to get into is Leia needs to figure out who her birth mother is and twice we have come close in the comics but Leia is oblivious and I would love to see her reaction when she figures out who is her real birth parents.

Where's Luke?

This will be the last bit of my review and if you have already seen the poster and trailer of The Force Awakens then clearly you understand the question and curious what happened to him for thirty years. This comic does not tell you where Luke disappear but it gives a clear message what is his new task after the events of Endor. Palpatine left a wonder souvenir that no one ever knew about and because of that gift, it provides Luke the necessary means as to how to make the Jedi Force stronger and hopefully let good persevere over evil. I was utterly surprised why Palpatine would have that and it makes me question what was his motive for keeping it and not destroying it into pieces if he is the epitome of Evil?

I believe Luke goes into hiding like Kenobi and Yoda in Force Awakens but I do not believe to escape from the Imperials. I believe he is trying to find a way to tap into the Jedi Force and spread it across the galaxy so that way the Jedi Force can be summon across the Galaxy. I believe that takes incredible power, resource, and time *cough cough 30 years** to make that a possibility. Based on his actions will set the course for the next new trilogy and I hope the characters make references to this comic. A boy can only dream. I am going nuts for the new Star Wars movie and I cannot wait to learn more about the Force Awakens.